Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water

 PlayStation 5
User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 491 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 377 out of 491
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 491
  3. Negative: 111 out of 491

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  1. deplorable
    Nov 1, 2021
    5
    Do you want to wander through the same maps again and again, with clunky unwieldy controls ! boy do i have a game for you.

    The story is terrible. Hot teenage maidens tend to get lost on a mountain. Be prepared for more shrine maidens and bad story telling than you can shake a stick at. Be prepared for your protagonists wooden acting, wooden movement and overall wooden feel to be totally    Do you want to wander through the same maps again and again, with clunky unwieldy controls ! boy do i have a game for you.

    The story is terrible. Hot teenage maidens tend to get lost on a mountain. Be prepared for more shrine maidens and bad story telling than you can shake a stick at. Be prepared for your protagonists wooden acting, wooden movement and overall wooden feel to be totally incorporated into cutscenes when they can't fathom someone's going off somewhere or something isn't right.

    The camera obscura (the thing you use to exorcise ghosts) is about as wonky, camera controls and ghosts vanishing into elements of the game you can't reach. This doesn't help if they drop a fatal glance [which the manual just calls "glance"] don't worry about it, the manual, game and everything else manages to get some things mixed up. Such as the controls for the lens and film. it's the other way around in the tutorial it shows you. plus R2 is also circle for some reason. And half the time you pick up something, you'll automatically lock onto the trail shadow to follow because it's the same button. It's terrible layout for controls. Also be careful with the fatal glances, since you have a short amount of time, sometimes a double tap and hold of R2 works better because the clunky controls won't play the correct animation for it to work. honestly.

    If you're wondering if the game makes use of the PS5's immersive haptic feedback or dynamic adaptive triggers, come on. It's just a port of the PS4 version with very little difference. Not sure why the map wasn't put to the touchpad and the settings menu to the options button as a default.

    The game doesn't really know what it wants to be. So throws you into the same map (occasionally with a different protagonist) and throws new stuff to pick up from notes, to ammo, to herbs. So the resident evil feel is there. But with clunky (really clunky) controls and since you're changing from first person (the camera) to third a lot in very tight areas, you can already see the problems.

    There are better looking horror games out for the PS5, this doesn't utilise anything that makes this edition worthy. And it feels like a mockery of the original xbox versions of fatal frame, The entire game feels rushed and striped off content.

    But if wondering from the same rooms to the same rooms is something you feel you'd enjoy with a few ghosts in the mix to fight (sometimes) then this is perfect for you.

    Just glad they didn't try to sell it as a full priced game. That would have been ludicrous.    … Expand
  2. CoffeeCup99
    Dec 29, 2022
    5
    Fans of the series who haven't played entry this will probably want to give it a go, anyone new to the series would be better served by playing the earlier PlayStation 2 entries.

    There are a lot of 10/10 user reviews by fans of the series who are hopeful that this will sell well and lead to new entries in the series being developed. Fatal Frame/Project Zero was a great series but Maiden    Fans of the series who haven't played entry this will probably want to give it a go, anyone new to the series would be better served by playing the earlier PlayStation 2 entries.

    There are a lot of 10/10 user reviews by fans of the series who are hopeful that this will sell well and lead to new entries in the series being developed. Fatal Frame/Project Zero was a great series but Maiden of Black Water is widely acknowledged as one of the weaker entries. This game does a better job of demonstrating why the series died off than it does of showing why the series was ever popular. It is unlikely to win many new fans to the series.

    The game is a chore to play. The horror aspects of the game are good but the feeling of fear is constantly overpowered by feelings of irritability and frustration at bad game design decisions.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

85
#85 Most Discussed PlayStation 5 Game of 2021

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
63

Mixed or average reviews - based on 33 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 18 out of 33
  3. Negative: 3 out of 33
  1. Gamersky
    Dec 2, 2021
    83
    If you've been too timid to play horror games but have been looking for a chance to experience it once, Fatal Frame:Maiden of BlackWater might be a good choice. Sexy characters, wonderful plots, unique combat system, and an excellent Japanese-style psychological horror atmosphere make this work unique in the field of horror games.
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  2. Games.cz
    Nov 30, 2021
    50
    Only true fans of the series who never owned the WiiU will truly appreciate this port - or perhaps the nostalgic souls among you who cannot live without old Japanese horror games.
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  3. Player 2
    Nov 25, 2021
    75
    I can’t say I enjoyed my time with Fatal Frame: Maiden of Blackwater, because I spent most of my time with the game paused, my hands over my eyes and the television on mute to drown out the creepy ambiance and the anguished cries of spirits trying to kill me.
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